BELGRADE, March 21. /TASS/. Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic during talks with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov discussed the improvement of bilateral relations based on traditional friendship, the press service of the Serbian Foreign Ministry reported.
"Serbian First Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. During the meeting, they discussed the improvement of bilateral relations between the two countries, which are characterized by traditional friendship, cultural, spiritual and historical closeness of our two peoples, and are based on mutual trust and respect," the press service said.
"Minister Dacic thanked Russia for its principled position on the issue of preserving the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Serbia and informed his interlocutor about the situation in Kosovo and Metohija," the foreign ministry concluded.
Lavrov held talks with the Serbian Foreign Minister on his birthday. The top Russian diplomat turns 74 on March 21.
On the same day, an important sports event for both countries will take place - a friendly match between the national football teams of Russia and Serbia will be held in Moscow. Earlier, Dacic's press service announced that he would attend the match at Lavrov's invitation.
The Russian minister himself is an avid football fan. Knowing Lavrov's love for the sport, Dacic gave him a personalized jersey of the Serbian national team number 10 in 2018. That same year, the top diplomats met on the sidelines of the World Cup in Russia.